This past May in Chesapeake voters resoundingly rejected to policies of Democrats by electing a Republican-endorsed mayor in Alan Krasnoff and three Republican endorsed council-members in Rick West, Patti Willis, and Debbie Ritter, making the majority of those who sit on council Republican.
However, today, councilwoman and chair of the Chesapeake Democratic Party, Ella Ward, has called upon Democrats to show up tonight (to the tune of 150 strong) to advocate for electing either Dwight Parker (current vice mayor) or Cliff Hayes (former Republican) both Democrats, to be the next vice mayor on the grounds that the vice mayor should be an African-American.
There’s nothing wrong with the vice mayor being black. However, it’s a bit disingenuous for Ward to be stating that this is for “diversity.”
Should an African American be vice mayor, that would mean Republicans would have to give the seat to someone from the other party or an independent…that just doesn’t make sense. In a democracy, the majority should be allowed to choose who they want as their vice mayor based on that individual’s qualifications and abilities — and whether or not they share the ideology of a majority on council — not based on race.
According to Ward via an email exhorting folks to participate in tonight’s council meeting, “Only once since Reconstruction has the City of Chesapeake not had one of the top leaders of the city to be an African-American.”
Considering the city has only been in existence since the early 1960’s when Norfolk County and South Norfolk voted to merge, the fact that an African-American has served as a “top leader” is not that hard to imagine — considering former Mayor William Ward served for most of that time. But, flipping Councilwoman Ward’s argument, should a majority on the next council be African-American, and those same members also happen to be Democrat, is Ward prepared to put a white Republican as vice mayor?
Not likely.
